Government urged to delay state pension age increase

Ministers should reconsider planned rises in the state pension age given life expectancy increases have stalled, campaigners have said.

Last month, the Government launched a review into increasing the age pensioners can claim their state benefit, potentially forcing millions of people to delay retirement.

Policymakers want to increase the state pension age from 67 to 68 seven years earlier than has been previously legislated, doing so between 2037 and 2039. The Department for Work and Pensions said this would reflect “a growing population” and the fact that “people on average [were] living longer”.

However new data has suggested that life expectancy increases will be lower than previously thought. The Office for National Statistics predicts the average life span of a 67-year- old man will be 18.7 years by 2028, down from a 2014 prediction of 21.1 years.

A 67-year-old woman in 2028 could expect to live for 20.8 years, according to the new figures, down from a projection of 23.1 years.

Caroline Abrahams, of charity Age UK, said the new figures meant the Government should “tread cautiously” over future state pension age decisions.

She said: “On the face of it, it removes the justification for raising the age any further. There are huge inequalities in life expectancy between income groups, and if the state pension age is raised too fast, some at the lower end are likely to die before they have time to enjoy retirement.”

The Government said in its review that it would examine whether existing rules were “appropriate” based on the latest life expectancy data. It would also study the impact of raising the state pension age to 69 or 70.

Tom Selby, of fund shop AJ Bell, said: “Given life expectancy is rising at a slower rate than previously thought, you could argue plans to increase the state pension age should be pushed further into the future – or even cancelled altogether.

“Given how difficult the Prime Minister is finding life at the moment, the Government might consider rethinking state pension age rises to help shore up support among voters.”

Changes to the state pension age have previously proved controversial. Millions of so- called “Waspi” women argued they had been discriminated against after the Government equalised the state pension ages for men and women between 2010 and 2020.

The DWP has also been mired in controversy in recent months after “staffing issues” led to delays in state pension payouts for people turning 66.

Some 134,000 divorced and widowed women were also underpaid their state pension due to an administrative error by the DWP.